1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle plastic panel including an integrally molded speaker grille having a cross-hatched upstanding rib pattern extending from a rear surface of the speaker grille.
2. Background Art
Typically, vehicle door panels are injection molded components which include an opening configured to receive a speaker grille which is affixed into the opening on the plastic panel. The speaker grille is a separate component from the plastic panel, and therefore requires separate tooling, handling and assembly, and may present squeak and rattle issues as the speaker grille rubs against the door panel. Additionally, appearance and fit-and-finish of the relationship between the inserted speaker grille and the door panel can pose ongoing problems in manufacturing and assembly.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,853,966 and 5,904,002 show prior art vehicle doors which include a speaker opening to which a speaker grille is attached. It is desirable to provide a panel, such as a vehicle door panel, in which the above-referenced problems associated with noise, squeak and rattle issues, fit-and-finish, and high tooling and labor costs associated with affixing a separate speaker grille to a plastic panel are eliminated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,791 teaches a speaker grille including a molded plastic member and has stress regions in which there are no openings. The stress regions extend across the grille in an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d pattern. This configuration is particularly useful for small electronic devices, such as a hand-held radio or paging devices which includes a sound transducer.
The present invention overcomes the above-referenced shortcomings of prior art plastic panel and speaker grille configurations by providing a speaker grille which is integrally molded with a plastic panel. The speaker grille includes a cross-hatched upstanding rib pattern extending from its rear surface to facilitate flow of molten plastic across the mold cavity area which forms the speaker grille in a molding operation to prevent short shots and trapped gases.
More specifically, the present invention provides a vehicle plastic panel, such as a door panel, which includes a plastic panel body and a speaker grille integrally injection molded with the plastic panel body. The speaker grille has a plurality of sound passages formed therethrough from a front surface to a rear surface, and includes a cross-hatched upstanding rib pattern extending from the rear surface.
This configuration is intended specifically for use as a vehicle door panel, but may be implemented in any plastic panel having a speaker therebehind.
Preferably, the sound passages are formed by a labyrinth pattern of adjoined wall segments having a thickness (t) less than one-half the width (wh) of each sound passage. The wall segment thickness (t) is preferably approximately one millimeter, and the sound passage width (wh) is preferably approximately 2.5 mm.
Each rib of the upstanding rib pattern has a rib thickness (rt) which is approximately one-half the thickness of the speaker grille. Also, the rib thickness (rt) is substantially equal to the thickness (t) of each wall segment.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a speaker grille which is integrally molded with a plastic panel to eliminate the above-described problems and costs associated with attaching a separate speaker grille into an existing hole in the panel.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.